Thursday, June 30, 2016

"A Facebook video of the attack posted by Caleb Bonham received more than 606,000 views and nearly 3,000 comments by 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. It shows the shirtless man, whose name has not been released, chasing and hitting people on the mall near the McDonald’s on the corner of 16th Street and Cleveland Place."

Seriously, check out the video. It may be the deciding factor of you decide to conceal carry or leave it home.

A pre-internet knitting circle. Not much unlike its modern day counterpart.

Two stories were making the rounds this week that have lent credence to the other. One was of UN truck movements around the American South. The other was of a US-Globalist cabal known as the Strong Cities Network.

“The Strong Cities Network will serve as a vital tool to strengthen capacity-building and improve collaboration,” said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch. “As we continue to counter a range of domestic and global terror threats, this innovative platform will enable cities to learn from one another, to develop best practices and to build social cohesion and community resilience here at home and around the world.”

Blah, blah, blah, and so it goes on. Bottom line is that it is yet another UN money pit program to siphon funds back to the bureaucrats in Geneva and Washington.

So the initiative is backed at the UN and is approved by Lynch and Kerry. That alone should tell you what you need to know about its effectiveness. But let's assume for a moment that it is all true. Blue helmeted Belgians are coming across the Atlantic with murder, rape, and conquest in their hearts.

So. Damn. What.

These are the same guys that would, could, and have screwed up a cheese sandwich. And people are consumed with fear that they will fight on US soil when we are armed to the teeth and the local governments are functioning just fine? This just does not make a bit of sense to me. Look, I love survivalist dystopian fiction as much as the next guy, but this just isn't it.

These two stories on top of each other caused a bit of panic on the airwaves as the Patriot knitting circles huddled together to spread gossip and discuss the "what if". Obviously, there is no "what if " and it only serves to show how masturbatory, (however cathartic), the panic is to the newbies that are flocking to the various Patriot sites, blogs and various social media outlets. As event unfold, more and more people are coming to these sites. Just in the past week, I have had a huge influx in people coming to the Facebook site that are not "friends of friends" but are first time viewers. Let's not let hysteria, conjecture and all of the imponderables of life guide our conversations and govern our thoughts.

It does not matter if we shoot ourselves in the foot or if the enemy does it. The effect is the same. I think we are better than that and I know we know better.

As I am sure many of you have seen, the Holder/Lynch Justice department has more 'splainin' to do now that guns that were used in the Paris attacks have been traced to a gun purchased under the guise of the failed Operation Fast and Furious. Buckets of blood, they have to answer for in France. Not that anyone ever will.

"One of the guns used in the November 13, 2015 Paris terrorist attacks came from Phoenix, Arizona where the Obama administration allowed criminals to buy thousands of weapons illegally in a deadly and futile “gun-walking” operation known as “Fast and Furious.” ... ATF leaders went out of their way to keep the information under the radar and ensure that the gun owner’s identity was “kept quiet,” according to law enforcement sources involved with the case. “Agents were told, in the process of taking the fully auto, not to anger the seller to prevent him from going public,” a veteran law enforcement official told Judicial Watch. [More]"

I wonder why. I wonder if it's connected to Gunwalker. And I wonder if the Republican majority Congress is going to continue accepting stonewalling so that "independents" have to do all the uncovering."

And I wonder why they power elites want to disarm us so.

This Opposite Day progressive "most transparent administration in history" ruling is is full of wonders.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

“A lot of what people read about me in certain corners of the internet and a lot of what Donald Trump says about me is just that same nonsense,” she said during a speech at the International Women’s luncheon, referring to a long history of political attacks.

Clinton said she was troubled by polling numbers which show that voters didn’t trust her, and she put the blame on political opponents and conspiracy theories about her.

“I could say that political opponents and conspiracy theorists have accused me of every crime in the book over the years,” she added. “None of it’s true, never has been.”

Oh, man, that's a knee slapper. Vince Foster and Ambassador Stevens were unavailable for comment. But then, at this point, what difference does it make?

Two things I think you should keep in mind before you dig into this one.

1. He's from the great Free Fire paradise of Chicago. 'Nuff said.

2. I had a chance meeting with a reformed lawyer and all around awesome human being, Greg Hopkins, author of A Time to Kill, and lecturer on gun rights. He mentioned that they no longer teach the Constitution. Actually, they have not taught the Constitution as it relates to the foundation of Federal law in quite some time. The Constitution is, instead, taught as vignettes of case studies. Meaning that the supreme law of the United States, that was ratified in 1788, with its seven articles and 27 amendments, is not taught as the basis of law but only all of the ways that lawyers over the years have cherry picked its language to win a case.

“I see absolutely no value to a judge of spending decades, years, months, weeks, day, hours, minutes, or seconds studying the Constitution, the history of its enactment, its amendments, and its implementation (across the centuries — well, just a little more than two centuries, and of course less for many of the amendments),” he wrote. “Eighteenth-century guys, however smart, could not foresee the culture, technology, etc., of the 21st century.”

Like the internet, cell phones, drones, wire taps, 4473 forms, the IRS, and all other machinations of big government over-reach and malfeasance.

"He added, “let’s not let the dead bury the living.”

"Judge" Posner's powers to adjudicate the freedoms of his fellow countrymen are derived from the Constitution. That he fails to see the absolutely absurdity of this claim is telling how far removed the perfumed gentry class is from Flyover Country. I should say that I pity the man when he has to face the stark fact that people are not meant to be ruled. But I don't. History tells us that it usually comes to such people right before they are led to furniture that produces a long drop and a sudden stop.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

"In just under a year, women have joined the ranks of combat arms and a transgender man is even serving as a squad leader in the United States Army Infantry. Staff Sergeant Patricia King was born with the biological features of a man, but has been tormented by a sense of being in the wrong body since the age of eight, according to BI."

"Technically, SSG King could be discharged from the Army for being openly transgender, but since Ash Carter announced plans to rethink this policy, the Army has not been actively pursuing discharges."

“…we have transgender soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines – real, patriotic Americans – who I know are being hurt by an outdated, confusing, inconsistent approach that’s contrary to our value of service and individual merit,” said Carter."

My comprehension of the English language is not sufficient enough to appropriately express how I feel about this. To be plain, I do not give a rip how gay he is. My deep concern is the pandoras box this is in regards to 1. good order and discipline, and 2. uniform standards. It may not make sense to an outsider looking in, but this is a huge game changer for the military. Not in a good way.

"My students are know-nothings. They are exceedingly nice, pleasant, trustworthy, mostly honest, well-intentioned, and utterly decent. But their brains are largely empty, devoid of any substantial knowledge that might be the fruits of an education in an inheritance and a gift of a previous generation. They are the culmination of western civilization, a civilization that has forgotten nearly everything about itself, and as a result, has achieved near-perfect indifference to its own culture.""We have fallen into the bad and unquestioned habit of thinking that our educational system is broken, but it is working on all cylinders. What our educational system aims to produce is cultural amnesia, a wholesale lack of curiosity, history-less free agents, and educational goals composed of content-free processes and unexamined buzz-words like "critical thinking," "diversity," "ways of knowing," "social justice," and "cultural competence."

"In such a world, possessing a culture, a history, an inheritance, a commitment to a place and particular people, specific forms of gratitude and indebtedness (rather than a generalized and deracinated commitment to "social justice"), a strong set of ethical and moral norms that assert definite limits to what one ought and ought not to do (aside from being "judgmental") are hindrances and handicaps."

I know the Millennials are taking a beating recently. They earned it to a degree. As I have observed elsewhere, it is every bit our own damn fault. The good Professor here does an excellent job in explaining the depths to which we have sunk and will continue to sink. We have wasted a generation to our own excesses and we will see them drift away at our own peril. At a time when they need mentorship the most, we are bored to distraction and dither away the last chance at passing on freedom to later generations. We can continue to dump on them or see this as an opportunity to pass the torch. When this light goes out, who or when would you suppose will light it again?

The MUT by Leatherman is a multitool that has been designed specifically for the AR series rifle. Over the years I have had a number of Gerbers and Leatherman tools and keep coming back to the Leatherman. It is almost always more heavy than the Gerber but it is packed with features. Gerbers also have a nasty design flaw in that if the pliers unexpectedly slip off of something while under tension, it will invariably catch the webbing of your hand and hurt like hell. If you have ever used one, you know exactly what I am talking about.

What draws me to the MUT is the bolt over ride tool. The "hammer", bronze scraper, scope wrench, etc. is all icing on the cake for me compared to that. I have had to clear various malfunctions over the years and there is just no good way to do it quickly other than rack the charging handle back repeatedly, hammering the butt of the rifle on the ground, and hope for the best. I would like the ability to drop the mag, rip a tool out of my open top HSGI Taco pouch, manually insert it into the bolt, rack it back, watch the brass clear and continue mission. I can be back into the fight in a few seconds. Easy peezy.

The promotional video with explanation of the major features﻿

The Nutnfancy longwinded gear review

We have one of these at the store that I have been eyeballing for about a year now. After seeing the videos I think I am ready to pull the trigger on this one today. The price tag is from 120 to 150 depending on what model you get. Obviously much more than the Eddie Bauer stocking stuffer. With my very modest discount and a $30 gift card I received for making a dy-no-mite cheesecake, I can pick this up for under a 100. Never pay full price, right?

Now I did see this piece of gear making its rounds lately. I can see it does something similar to the MUT bolt over ride tool and is substantially less in weight and in precious federal reserve notes ($35 to $45 depending on model).

"The Manual Bolt Extraction Device (MBED) is designed to be used in the event of a malfunction where you need direct access to the bolt carrier group (BCG) and the leverage provided by the charging handle is insufficient. The MBED is effectively used to clear the most common stoppages such as a double feed where the second round is wedged above the BCG. The MBED can also be used to clear an over pressured round or any stoppage where the casing is stuck in the chamber and has seized function of the rifle."

Why would I choose the MUT over this? I wouldn't necessarily. Tools are tools. On the gear I would want a tool that will give me the most bang for my buck without taking up too much real estate. Bottom line is that it is your choice what you carry into the fight. We'll see how enthusiastic about the MUT after I run up flights of stairs in full armor.

"10 Years ago the EU was taking 55% of British exports. Last year it was taking 45%. Where is it going to be in 2030? Where is that figure going to be in 2050? How low does it have to go before we drop this bizarre idea that we have to merge our political institutions with those of neighboring countries in order to have a minority say in a declining block?"

"Being a nation means that we are not just a random set of individuals born to another random set of individuals. It imposes on us a duty to keep intact the freedoms we were lucky enough to inherit from our parents and pass them on to securely to the next generation."

And one more:
"We are a great country and our song is not yet sung. We still have more to give. Though much is taken. Much abides. And though we are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are."

I really have not had my finger on the pulse of Birmingham politics for a few years, but I am wondering at what point did the City Council become completely over-run with the irredeemably stupid? I know that cities can tolerate a certain amount of incompetence and graft and survive so long as there are enough people to pick up the slack. Pity. It used to be pretty nice.

"Tyson, who has previously asked the city to pay for repairs at the historically black Shadow Lawn Cemetery, said she didn’t understand why the city should help the privately funded memorial project.

“Isn’t it still for dead people,” Tyson said. “It is for dead people. Aren’t the people they are memorializing deceased?”

"City Attorney Thomas Bentley, whose parents are buried in Shadow Lane, sighed and tried to explain how the black cemetery was a private entity, while the Holocaust memorial expressed the city’s remembrance."

“I’m not sure I have the vocabulary or explanatory power to indicate the distinction although it’s clear to me from a legal standpoint that there is a distinction,” Bentley said."

I feel your pain, guy. I really do.

“This is the oldest cemetery in the world,” Tyson said. “If this isn’t a tourist attraction I want to know what is."

In. Da. Wurl. Go big, or go home, right? Not to be publicly admonished, the pack senses distress and comes to her aid.

Saturday, June 25, 2016

I am in contact with a few gentlemen that would that stand ready to send care some really awesome care packages to currently deployed service members. I know our forward deployed military foot print is significantly downsized. but we still have plenty of people out there deserving of our support.

I shared this picture on facebook and it received (for me anyway) a fair amount of attention. With nearly 300400 500 "likes" and well over 10002000 3000 shares, I have been able to track how people interpret a meme that I think is fairly self-evident. Most people got it. Some, to my surprise, did not.

I will numerate a few of those that just "did not get it". These quotes are taken directly from Facebookers that shared the meme. All painful syntax errors have been left. I have to share the pain somehow.

1. "You wrong no guns not even for cops. Yea Hillary . I love that girl" - For so many reasons, I hope you choke while you eat a giant bag of dicks. Asshole.

2. "Yet another attempt by weak-minded NRA minions the further the paranoid, hysterical, fallacy that "da guvment is gunna take yer guns". NOBODY, NO rational person, wants to take away everyone's guns. What sucks is that 2nd Amendmenters apparently lack the critical thinking skills necessary to recognize this." - Yes they are trying to prevent private ownership of firearms. Stop being obtuse. Also see #1.

3 "The 2nd Amendment has NOTHING to do with hunting. (Just saying)" - No one said it was. However, any restriction on standard capacity mags should be met with bitter scorn and willful disobedience. Just saying.

4. "Incorrect on 30 rounds for hunting if your hunting hogs you need 30 rounds maybe more depending on size of herd and if they're coming at you" - No one cares. See #3. Just saying.

5. "and if you need a gun to feel free you suck at freedom" - If your only contribution to the country is to throw spitballs on social media, you suck at freedom. Also, I need to have a gun because I suck at being a slave. Where does that put the people on the other side of the debate?

6. " If you need a gun to kill someone, you suck at murder! Box cutters got 3000 on 9/11. The most dangerous weapon is your brain. If you hate enough to murder, you can carry it out." - Socialist governments were responsible for over 260 million murders last century. The most dangerous weapons are "greater good" assholes like you that load people on cattle cars. That is quantifiable.

I did find it amusing to see one anti-freedom prole in debate with another anti-freedom prole over certain nuances of gun control. It was like watching chimps try to use tools for the first time. They understood some rudimentary concepts but they have no idea of the purpose.

None of them understood the "why" of the debate. They understood to a certain degree the "how" and the "what". The "why", as in why would you demand your freedom to retain the most basic human right to self defense, had them at a loss. Until they figure that part out, they will just not get it.

"Correlation does not prove causation. But a negative correlation certainly proves that “easy access to guns” cannot be blamed for murder and violent crime."

"We have still other means to test the claim that “flaccid gun laws” are a problem. I have been asking a question for over a decade now. And many others, including the CDC and the Department of Justice, have been asking it in slightly different forms without being able to find an answer that agrees with those who want more repressive gun laws. The background for the question can be found here: http://blog.joehuffman.org/2004/12/14/just-one-question/"

"The question is, “Can you demonstrate one time or place, throughout all history, where the average person was made safer by restricting access to handheld weapons?” The answer turns out to be, “No.”

As found making its rounds on Facebook. Oh the irony of the FBI training, setting up, and funding the white supremacist movement for years to troll for a steady stream of truly useful idiots only to accuse the same people for infiltrating the LEO.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

"We in the liberty movement all talk about “restoring rightful liberty” whatever that means to the folks talking about it. Many of us call ourselves three percenters, alluding to the three percent of the patriots who fought for liberty during the revolutionary war."

...

"The Patriots were motivated by equality, economic mobility and freedom of religion."

"What percentage of Americans are motivated by these three things today? We read daily of regular folks begging the government to take their rights away under the notion that we “might” be safer. The number of folks that really want equality of opportunity is almost none. Attacks on economic mobility occur from every side of the political spectrum. Freedom of religion? Americans are embracing religion at a smaller number every year it seems."

"So, what are we restoring? How many Americans even recognize these motivations enough to even want them?"

I confess, I had wanted to be a Soldier since I was knee high, so I never did give much thought to vintage military aircraft. Growing up in Columbus with Wright Pat down the road, by rights I should have paid more attention. Maybe it is a touch of sentimentality I am getting in my old age, but I am starting to see the romance with these obsolete war birds .

These machines were made in a time well before computers and certain air superiority. Even if you cannot appreciate the birds, you can sure appreciate the grit for the men that flew them.

Tell me again what happens when we have an armed forces whose moral compass is the State?

"Master Sergeant (MSgt) Charles “Chuck” Roberson is a USAF veteran who retired on April 3, 2016 at Travis Air Force Base. A month before his retirement, Roberson saw Rodriguez perform the flag-folding speech at a friend’s retirement ceremony. Moved by the speech, Roberson personally asked Rodriguez to give the same speech at his own retirement ceremony. Rodriguez readily agreed. Read a script of the speech."

"When Roberson’s unit commander discovered that Rodriguez would be delivering the flag-folding speech, which mentions “God,” during the ceremony, he attempted to prevent Rodriguez from attending. After learning that he lacked authority to prevent Rodriguez from attending, the commander then told Roberson that Rodriguez could not give the speech. Rodriguez asked Roberson what he should do, and Roberson responded that it was his personal desire that Rodriguez give the flag-folding speech as planned."

"Roberson and Rodriguez tried to clear the speech through higher authorities at Travis Air Force Base, even offering to place notices on the door informing guests that the word “God” would be mentioned. They never received a response from the authorities. As an Air Force veteran himself, Rodriguez stood firm on his commitment to Roberson."

The article deals specifically with islam; a 1600 year old threat that most Americans view as very distant and ephemeral. Submission, whether it is to a bureaucrat or an imam is one in the same. You are a given a choice of easy, apathetic submission or a never ending battle to politically, spiritually, and physically keep your God given rights.

"Orlando is not the first mass shooting by a so called ‘Lone Wolf’ Islamic
Jihadist in America; it’s the seventh
in recent years but this one is different. The knee jerk reaction from the
political left and their media enablers has (unbelievably) gained traction in
the establishment media. The Orlando massacre has nothing to do with guns;
decreasing the civil liberties of law abiding Americans is not the answer. A
majority of the American public knows this and are dismissing the governing
elites attempts to spin this attack for political advantage out of hand. The
problem is Islamic Jihadists and the fact that they are embedded inside our
society and are going to, with ever increasing frequency, attack the citizens
around them in the name of Allah. It’s what they do."

"So, the government somehow defines "assault weapons" in a meaningful way and bans sales of new ones. How is that going to be effective given the millions of disfavored weapons already in circulation? That includes roughly 8 million AR-15-style rifles alone—out of somewhere north of 300 million firearms in general. It's not like they're going anywhere."

I still feel that the 300 million number is extremely conservative given the number of firearms that have been sold in the past few years alone. Of course the author is right in that no branch of government was able to define the term "assault rifle" in a "meaningful way". Just look at how arbitrary the "bayonet lug" or the "shoulder thing that goes up" were or what the SBR brace is now.

Here is the "ah ha"" moment of the ease of nullification that needs to be imparted loud and clear to the disarmament folks:

"People have been 3D-printing AR-15 lower receivers (the parts legally classified as a firearm) for years. More durable receivers are CNC-milled by hobbyists from partially finished blanks as well as raw blocks of metal. These techniques were developed in anticipation of the laws now proposed, with the specific purpose of rendering them impotent."

Even before 3D printers and CNC machines, free men and women did not need permission to make firearms. Pass whatever "feel good" law you law you wish, it does not matter a damn. Firearms manufacturing has been completely and forever democratized. It will in the hands of the people to decide what they are going to give up and what they simply will not.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

From PJ Media:
"Gamal Abdel-Hafiz, born in Cairo, immigrated to the U.S. in 1990. He recently retired from the FBI after 22 turbulent years at the bureau. Following the Orlando attack, Abdel-Hafiz explained his rationale for creating a national gun registry:

A former FBI counter-terrorism agent says lawmakers could make mass murders less likely. "What we need to do is keep the ownership of guns known to the government, so we know who has what," said security consultant Gamal Abdel-Hafiz. “And I know a lot of people are against that.”

Seems to me there was some talk about a Muslim registry for the same reasons. Wonder how he weighs in on that one.

More on the rats among us

One from Joe at Boomershoot"This is just my job. So said the guy gathering signatures at the grocery store." "One of the initiatives he was promoting was designed to get more guns out of the hands of law abiding people." "When I saw his booth and the anti-gun language, I resolved to talk to him on my way out of the store."
.....

"His reply: “This is just a job for me. I’m a gun owner.” "I don’t remember my reply, but it was not what I was thinking:" "Quisling." "Judenrat." "To make others defenseless because you are getting a paycheck."

"...I once told a hoplophobe child psychiatrist on a "gun violence" panel in Birmingham:

"Let's say you're right. Let's say I AM paranoid. Let's say I'm CRAZY." (And here I opened up my eyes wide and edged closer to him. He jumped back in fear.) "Well, I'm still armed to the teeth. That just complicates your problem, now doesn't it?"

The Old Man loved telling people that story. Anyone that would listen; his eyes would get wide at the appropriate places and he would smile at the end for effect. What only but a few were able to grasp is its profound wisdom. Men, even well meaning ones that are simply trying to make their way in the world, who may even be sympathetic to your cause, who ask for to disarm need to have their lies exposed for what they are at eye ball level.

After all, evil triumphs when good men do nothing to the well intentioned ones aid it.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

BOV Kit lists are numerous and fairly redundant. They do what they are suited to do. The amount of time we spend in and around our vehicles is staggering. About.com compiled the US Census data that suggests that the average American driver spends over 100 hours behind the wheel each year. The AAA adds some more math to calculate it out further as to age, location, and certain occupational concerns. Bottom line is that Americans are finding themselves with their vehicles more, and now we have a crumbling infrastructure to contend with along with more cars, (and more jackasses), being on the road.

It is a wonder we get anywhere sometimes.

Despite your focus, rural, urban or suburban, every car needs to have some sort of blowout kit to handle life's imponderables. A good IFAK is just big enough to store beneath a seat but big enough to handle a lot of the first responder issues of controlling bleeding and maintaining breathing. The IFAK is good, especially when coupled with a small, cheap range bag that is packed with other essential gear, more ammo, water, whatever; you get the idea.

In doing some research for some other bit of Tacticool that I found on a facebook auction site, I ran across this little gem that looks promising as a quick reaction bag for really bad days on the road:

But you say, "Matthew, why the hell would I need an active shooter kit in my Grocery Getter"? Well check out the second video and I think you can see the utility a little better.

It makes a little more sense now as a fairly useful, and completely accessible system. The only problem that I see in this is keeping the spouse and kids from stripping it of batteries, meds, band aids, or chemlights.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Through the comments section, I am sent a metric crap ton of links to stories. Most of them with little or nothing to do with the story that they are commenting on. Some of them are utter tripe. Some are fantastic but not on point for the post. Being the fairly educated white boy that I am, I deduce this is to get my attention to a particular tidbit of news that would be interesting to the general audience.

That is absolutely awesome and thank you so much that you have taken ownership of your participation in bettering the community to want to have it shared with the audience. Before, they were simply deleted out of hand, but I am finding that there is a lot of great information but I cannot publish it as it will derail the real comments and it is frankly not germane to the post.

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately because it prevents tampering with the comments), I cannot click on the link to check out the story that is contained in the comment. I can only check mark the comment and either delete it or approve it to be published. What this is causing me to do is go and manually look up the story. Sometimes it is easy, sometimes no so much.

What I would ask you to do is send the link to the following email address: sipsey street irregulars AT gmail dot com. I will be able to check it out from the email and make a better assessment where it needs to go. I know for some, you may not want to submit the comments as anything other than anonymous and do not want an email address, even a fake, to be linked to the comment. The reasons are not important to me, the content and bettering the community is what is important. If you do not want to go through making an anonymous email, let me know and I can set up a proton mail account you can dump it into. Just let me know in the comments if that is better.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

As you may already know, I am finishing up week one of my two week Reserve Annual Training. The first week was spent with the normal mundane housekeeping stuff that we have not had time to complete. If you think that you have it bad with the occasional but, nonetheless, obtrusive corporate HR training requirements, you have not seen what the Army is forced to sit through with the quarterly gauntlet of mind rotting, tax payer subsidized, power point slides and online courses. Not to make light of the epidemic of veteran suicides, but after you have sat through your hundredth session of quarterly sexual harassment or master resiliency training, hanging yourself by your own safety reflective belt just for a diversion seems pretty attractive.

One thing of note, however, is that I took a refresher Combat Lifesavers course and it gave me the inspiration to publish a series of posts relating directly to the immediate life saving actions that you need to take after an active shooter incident. This will be coming from the meathead perspective of the military, but you can easily adapt them to your situation, whatever first responder role that may be. This will be another easily digestible, slow burn of posts that describe what you can do at a very basic level as a first responder of an active shooting incident or explosion. Surprisingly, it is actually quite a lot.

"Legal Disclaimer" up front
One caveat is that these actions can be performed by anyone that has the approved hands on training. The skill illustrated on this blog are for educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as the same thing as real world training. This does not give you the qualifications to perform emergency medical treatment any more than watching Scooby Do makes you a private investigator. It would be a good idea to read on your local or state interpretation of the Good Samaritan laws before you get yourself in a situation a high priced lawyer cannot get you out of.

The Stuff

First things first, we need to cover the very modest equipment that you need to provide this care. On every Soldier's armor, you will find the Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK). Please reference the picture below or you can go to this link for the pdf.

That is the "stuff" for one person's individual kit. You may want to have a larger first responder bag that can handle more than one incident/victim. The IFAK will get you out of most trouble given that you can get to a hospital in a decent amount of time. It will not treat heart attacks, strokes, poisonings, spine injuries, and other much more common life threatening incidents. This kit is strictly for the aftermath of gunshot wounds, blunt trauma, compound fractures, and other life threatening but treatable incidents that are common to the battlefield.

I would caution you to keep your boo-boo kit separate from your blow out kit. You will not want your band aids and Imodium to become jumbled in with the actual life saving materials. Every tool has its place. I would also encourage you to have at least two CAT tourniquets either in or attached to your Go Bag or directly attached to your gear/rifle. Whatever's clever for you.

Also, if you are a III Percent vendor that sells any of the equipment listed above, shoot me an email (not the Georgemason, but the Sipeystreet account), and would be more than happy to link to your products.

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Just as it says. AG Lynch is trying to adapt the No-Fly list to red flag anyone trying to purchase a finrearm. This is all feel good and easy enough to apply until you take a small step back as to what it actually means to get on the No Fly list

Here is a refresher as to some things that can put you on the No Fly List:

1. Being suspected to have been involved at some point in time of terrorist activates. Whatever that means, because no one seems to know.
.
2. Travel to other countries. Given the prism that this State Department views certain countries as either "good" or "bad", I can see how this is pretty arbitrary. Moreover, not one State Dept. bureaucrat was held responsible for letting these people back in. I'd like to have that conversation with Loretta.

3. Complaints from SJW's on social media. No really, that's it.

4. Have a name that sounds the same as someone on the No Fly List. Which is in no way arbitrary or against the rule of law.

5. When the alphabet agencies call you out, you don't play ball. As in, if you don't snitch, you don't fly. Or own a gun apparently.

6. Because Bureaucracy. Typing errors can get you on the list. Try defending yourself to the machine that you, Mr. John Q. Smith from Anytown USA is not Mohammed Salafist .

7. Bench warrants, too many parking tickets, whatever.

8. Again, Social Media. Tweeting your displeasure in the Hillary/Bernie 2016 ticket can catch the eye of Mordor and keep you from flying.

If you do not think that the enemies of the western civilization are not taking note, they are. What's funny is these people think they can negotiate with ISIS but free market, gun owning producer/breeders need to be eliminated. Boy-o-boy are they in for a surprise.

As to be expected, Herschel does an excellent job to explain and expand on the very important analysis by GEN Patton from earlier this week and other events that have been culminating to where we are right now.

I could give you the highlights, but the entire thing article is a highlight. I would invite you to click on the link above and read it the article in its entirety.

Trigger warning for the Trump crowd; bring your listening ears and an open mind. Perhaps the base can make enough noise to get that guys attention. Call it a triumph of hope over experience.

ATF, Virginia State Police contacted over ‘straw purchase’

It sure is hard for a working journalist to keep up with the fast moving targets of pushing the narrative-du-jour. With facts as rare as hens teeth over in the MSM, someone thought it would be a great idea to legally purchase an eeee-veyl assault rifle with the express purpose of legally transferring it to a third party. The idea would be to conduct an "undercover" sting investigation to prove that the exception of legal private transfers disproves the rule that the NCIS system works. Well, works well enough for the purposes of this story anyway.

"The store, SpecDive Tactical in Alexandria, Virginia, said that when CBS News’ Paula Reid [legally] purchased the rifle she told the store’s general manager the gun was for her own use. However, when CBS reported on the story they revealed the gun was purchased for the story and transferred to a third party a few hours later. “The rifle we purchased was legally transferred to a federally licensed firearms dealer and weapons instructor in Virginia, just hours after we bought it,” the report said."

"The store said they contacted the ATF after viewing the report because they feared the misdirection used by the CBS reporter constituted a straw purchase, which would be a federal crime."

As any sane person involved with the most regulated industry in the country, the store owner smelled a rat and called in the boys in blue.

Again from the article: “Ms. Paula Reid came into the shop with cash, claiming she wished to purchase an AR-15 to, ‘undergo training,’” Ryan Lamke, SpecDive’s general manager, told the Washington Free Beacon. “She refused basic, free instruction of firearms safety under the pretense that she was using the firearm for training with a NRA certified instructor.”

Now, we all know that absolutely nothing will happen to Ms. Reid. She is, after all, a vetted member of the fourth estate that was in the field and caught pushing the narrative. But the story should be a cautionary tale of keeping your b.s. antennae on full alert in everything you do. Especially when it comes to dealing with things that can put you in prison.

If it smells like a rat and looks like a rat and talks like a rat, you should probably believe that it is a rat. These hacks are generally out of their element and are fairly easy to pick out. Professionals are a bit different in that they study the culture and can talk the talk. Invariably they will come to you with the deal of a lifetime. You do so at the peril of your livelihood, family, friends.. Both types, the rank armatures and the hardened professionals, will always come at you sideways. It is the only way they know.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Before we get caught up in the D's vs. R's game, George makes some very important points to watch the hands that are shuffling the cards.

"We’re being played like marks right now over the shootings in Florida. Stop and think about that for a second before you read on. Think about all the discussions out there right now. Guns, muslims, gays, immigration, ISIS, you name it. And it’s all a game."

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Taking a chance on the radical notion that kids do not need the permission of society or the state to lead a healthy life. I can see that prayer shaming would be a real thing for ego-centric people caught up chasing vacant, boring, and plastic lives. It would be uncomfortable for those same people to see other kids positively influenced by something bigger than themselves.

The establishment on both parties knows how the Dems lost the House and Senate after the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban and again in 2010 with as an answer to the first term of Obama. They will have much to lose if they try and push for it now. Which is why I say now that pressure needs to be put on the knee jerk, tearful handwringing of the establishment politicians (of both flavors), but not to go and sell you car to stock up on stripped receivers.

The canary in the coal mine is if the DNC is willing to truly push for additional gun legislation and so abdicate more seats in the House and Senate. Any national disenfranchisement our firearm rights will be met with resounding defeats everywhere except for the deeply established colonies of big "S" socialist elitism, (i.e. NYC, LA, Chicago, Baltimore, San Fran, etc.). If they are, they have abandoned any pretense that things will things will continue on the two part path. The two state cold war we have currently enjoy will get lots and lots warmer.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

"Earlier Monday at a news conference, Thompson said he wanted to re-evaluate use of the device but that there were no plans to stop using it.

"It's too good a tool" to cease using, he said. "I personally want to sit through this to get a clear understanding of how this works and get a good comfortable feel before we move forward."

What's more:

"The state paid $5,000 for the devices and $1,500 for training, and the company that makes the devices, ERAD Group, gets a 7.7 percent cut of any funds seized and forfeited through use of the device."

So to summarize, the Okie Dept. of Public Safety is very temporarily pulling this $6,500 money making scheme not because it does nothing to with Public Safety but everything to do with getting familiar with the product. They probably spend more on new propaganda pamphlets from the SPLC every year so the cost is not so much in the grand scheme of things. The cost is not the issue, the kickbacks to the developer are. Moving on.

“We can do nothing with someone’s bank account. We can do nothing with someone’s debit card,” Adams said. “What we can tell is if it is yours, if the information on the back of a gift card is your personal credit card information.”

So this machine that costs $5000 and all they claim it can do is read out the name and banking information from the person that bought it. It cannot touch the bank account of the purchaser but it can swipe the money from the card. All without a shred of due process. Moving on.

“If we didn’t have this technology … we wouldlose out on the ability to help people that live and work here, or the people passing through here,” Thompson said."

I don't even know what that means, but I love it. Sally Struthers was clearly being upstaged with this tearful mush-mouthed pile of garbage. Moving on.

“In order for us to use those card readers … we have to have reasonable suspicion a crime has occurred to stop someone, then we have to have probable cause before we can move forward to swiping that card and seeing what’s on the card,” Thompson said."

In other words, a stop for a burned out tail light is PC to run your cards. And they wonder why people are pissed. Thank you War on (Some) Drugs (c).

"Thompson said law enforcement agencies in at least 25 states have ERAD devices. The inventor of the device, T. Jack Williams, told Oklahoma Watch last week that hundreds of law enforcement agencies around the country have the device."

"So far, no prepaid card funds have been seized by the Highway Patrol using the devices, Thompson said. The department’s use of the devices is to combat criminal organizations that have taken to using prepaid cards as a way to fraudulently obtain money or disguise illicit operations, such as drug or human trafficking."

So first they took money from bank cards and were so kind as to give it back from a machine that can only read names on gift cards. But then they did not take money from gift cards and it was all just a big misunderstanding but it's totally cool because 25 states us the technology.

Is it me, or do you have the feeling you're standing waist deep in a huge pile of male cow excrement?

"The Devtac Ronin Level IIIA Ballistic Helmet was unveiled at SHOT Show 2016. This ventilated two part helmet provides 70% ballistics protection (it may not be 100% but it’s a lot more than 0%). The cheekguards can be removed as necessary to provide access for a solid cheek weld when switching to firearms that aren’t modified to work with the helmet. Marketed for military and SWAT applications, the helmet will be available for civilian purchase later this year. The general look of the helmet is definitely intimidating. You wouldn’t want to see a squad of these bad boys coming for you."

I cannot believe this particular model being will be fielded by either Officer Friendly or Private Snuffy. I see a huge design error alone with the relatively limited field of view and the enclosed facemask that ensures you will be sucking in your own CO2. These are the same reasons I hate paintball masks. I understand what that it happens to have a fan system included but I also I know what happens to fans in the desert. Just like everything else mechanical, it gets dirty and breaks. Not exactly sustainable, is it?

It is like it was made by some damn MILSIM airsofters and not DARPA, ergo, no one actually tested the damn thing before they decided to showcase it at Shotshow 2016. But I digress.

It does, however, represent a small step to the realization of future land warrior concept. In 2013, a little fuss was made regarding the new helmets that were being developed, but I am unaware of an integrated GPS and communications platform being put through its paces. Money and the willingness to have the taxpayer foot the bill for a helmet worth thousands of dollars per unit will be the deciding factor. Of course, if the Department of Defense get's any smaller due to personnel cuts, we may just be able to afford it.

"You are at war, and your government cannot protect you. The enemy is far too committed and nimble for any of the government's force to turn quickly enough and face any given attack until it's upon you: right there in the same room with you. You must integrate the fact that if the enemy attacks, then *you* are at the front, and you must learn to act with every possible exploitation of the Western mind, including the indispensable device of firearms for defense against the known tactics of people who you must know may try to kill you and everyone around you, at any moment. You must know this.

You are at war, and your government cannot protect you. Dismiss all piece-meal rationales of "hate": you might as well decry "dance floor violence" after Bataclan and Pulse, but you will require principles, nonetheless, when it's a train blown-up or a shopping mall full of women and children. Do not grant the authority of "the authorities" and their insistent disintegrations of reality; their prosecutors' pious proceedings, their investigations engineered for hoarding facts and designed to craft narratives, their video pageants strutting their "communities" and taking uniformed bows. Understand that you will be at the front: not them.

You are at war, and your government cannot protect you. Understand that every step that it takes toward disarming you or any of your fellows, during these distinct times in which attacks like Bataclan and Pulse are well-known and could be fiercely met in grand old American traditions of courage and decisive action, is a step relinquished to evil: it's wrong, in defiance of manifest facts, and positively dangerous to American life.

The Telemundo 62 camera crew followed the woman until she was arrested by police shortly after.

Wilson punched Delgado three times before shoving her to the ground, witnesses said.

She has been charged with assault.

NBC, which owns the Spanish language channel, said Delgado is recovering.

"Iris Delgado was the victim of an unprovoked attack by an individual while reporting live for Telemundo62’s 11 PM local newscast. Thankfully, she is ok and is understandably taking some time off to recover. We look forward to her return," the company said in a statement.

Wilson, 37, has had numerous run-ins with the law, Philly Voice reports.﻿

I have one of these for my Army Reserve kit. I have another couple or more back in Alabama for my "civilian" kit that is of much better quality but not exactly set up according to military SOP.

Bottom line is that just like weapons, your gear should be set up by task. Your urban "gray man" kit will probably be much different from your rural gear which will not have your supplementary items (waterops, rappelling gear, ghillie suit, additional commo, you name it). This is why I am in favor of separate bags for separate missions.

I fully understand that not everyone will have the need or want to have everything seperate, but I fully endorse having one single container for your "Minuteman" gear. I will not get into the particulars as to what you should carry. The guy in the video has some points and quite frankly, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits all lift for what you personally will want.

"Progress made under the shadow of the policeman's club is false progress."

I believe that liberty is the only genuinely valuable thing that men have invented, at least in the field of government, in a thousand years. I believe that it is better to be free than to be not free, even when the former is dangerous and the latter safe. I believe that the finest qualities of man can flourish only in free air – that progress made under the shadow of the policeman's club is false progress, and of no permanent value. I believe that any man who takes the liberty of another into his keeping is bound to become a tyrant, and that any man who yields up his liberty, in however slight the measure, is bound to become a slave. -- H.L. Mencken

On the efficacy of passive resistance in the face of the collectivist beast. . .

Had the Japanese got as far as India, Gandhi's theories of "passive resistance" would have floated down the Ganges River with his bayoneted, beheaded carcass. -- Mike Vanderboegh.

In the future . . .

When the histories are written, “National Rifle Association” will be cross-referenced with “Judenrat.” -- Mike Vanderboegh to Sebastian at "Snowflakes in Hell"

"Smash the bloody mirror."

If you find yourself through the looking glass, where the verities of the world you knew and loved no longer apply, there is only one thing to do. Knock the Red Queen on her ass, turn around, and smash the bloody mirror. -- Mike Vanderboegh

From Kurt Hoffman over at Armed and Safe.

"I believe that being despised by the despicable is as good as being admired by the admirable."

From long experience myself, I can only say, "You betcha."

"Only cowards dare cringe."

The fears of man are many. He fears the shadow of death and the closed doors of the future. He is afraid for his friends and for his sons and of the specter of tomorrow. All his life's journey he walks in the lonely corridors of his controlled fears, if he is a man. For only fools will strut, and only cowards dare cringe. -- James Warner Bellah, "Spanish Man's Grave" in Reveille, Curtis Publishing, 1947.

"We fight an enemy that never sleeps."

"As our enemies work bit by bit to deconstruct, we must work bit by bit to REconstruct. Be mindful where we should be. Set goals. We fight an enemy that never sleeps. We must learn to sleep less." -- Mike H. at What McAuliffe Said

"The Fate of Unborn Millions. . ."

"The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their Houses, and Farms, are to be pillaged and destroyed, and they consigned to a State of Wretchedness from which no human efforts will probably deliver them. The fate of unborn Millions will now depend, under God, on the Courage and Conduct of this army-Our cruel and unrelenting Enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance, or the most abject submission; that is all we can expect-We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die." -- George Washington to his troops before the Battle of Long Island.

"We will not go gently . . ."

This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can't be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won't be done. The Founders' Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.

But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.

And when we are gone, the scattered, free survivors hiding in the ruins of our once-great republic will sing of our deeds in forbidden songs, tending the flickering flame of individual liberty until it bursts forth again, as it must, generations later. We will live forever, like the Spartans at Thermopylae, in sacred memory.

-- Mike Vanderboegh, The Lessons of Mumbai:Death Cults, the "Socialism of Imbeciles" and Refusing to Submit, 1 December 2008

"A common language of resistance . . ."

"Colonial rebellions throughout the modern world have been acts of shared political imagination. Unless unhappy people develop the capacity to trust other unhappy people, protest remains a local affair easily silenced by traditional authority. Usually, however, a moment arrives when large numbers of men and women realize for the first time that they enjoy the support of strangers, ordinary people much like themselves who happen to live in distant places and whom under normal circumstances they would never meet. It is an intoxicating discovery. A common language of resistance suddenly opens to those who are most vulnerable to painful retribution the possibility of creating a new community. As the conviction of solidarity grows, parochial issues and aspirations merge imperceptibly with a compelling national agenda which only a short time before may have been the dream of only a few. For many Americans colonists this moment occurred late in the spring of 1774." -- T.H. Breen, The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence, Oxford University Press, 2004, p.1.